‘He's from my constituency, a Congress leader’: Thiruvanchoor on Kerala CM’s chartered flight sponsor

Kottayam (Kerala): Senior Congress leader and Assembly Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has responded to the ongoing controversy surrounding Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s chartered flight journey, clarifying that the aircraft owner hails from his own constituency Kottayam and is personally well known to him.

“The owner of the aviation firm is someone with whom I share a very good personal relationship. It is a family that votes for me and resides within my electoral roll. What is so surprising if such individuals step in to extend temporary assistance?” Thiruvanchoor sought to know.

“Moreover, the owner is a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress, and the aircraft is registered in his wife's name. I regularly attend all their family functions, not in Bengaluru, but at their ancestral home in Kelachandra. Their entire family invites me to their gatherings, and we maintain a strong connection. This is not a case of jumping into an unfamiliar person's Cooper. These are people we know inside out,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister V D Satheesan declined to respond to reporters' questions regarding the identity of the flight's sponsor.